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Phil Davis
Phil Davis is the former Bellator light-heavyweight champion. First Title Run He most recently defeated fellow undefeated prospect Alexander Gustaffson via anaconda choke, handing Gustaffson the first loss of his career. Fellow debuting undefeated fighter Stanislav Nedkov was injured and had to pull out of his fight with Rodney Wallace. Davis replaced Nedkov to fight Wallace and won via dominant unanimous decision. Davis next faced Tim Boetsch, winning via second-round kimura submission. He was next set to face veteran Matt Hamill, but the fight was mysteriously called off about two months early. Hamill was switched to face former UFC light-heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson, and Davis remained on the same card as before. Davis was instead set to face the relentless Jason Brilz. Less than a week later, Tito Ortiz pulled out of a bout against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Davis stepped in as his replacement. Davis defeated Nogueira via unanimous decision in the biggest win of his career. Davis next replaced light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones in a bout versus former UFC light-heavyweight champion Rashad Evans. Unfortunately Davis was injured and forced to pull out a few weeks before the bout. Another former champion Tito Ortiz stepped in to replace Davis in a rematch against Evans. After recovering, Davis next signed to face Rashad Evans again. Evans handed Davis his first loss via a dominant five-round unanimous decision live on the prime-time Fox network. Davis impressed despite losing. Second Title Run Davis next faced newcomer and unknown Wagner Prado, who stepped in as a replacement for injured Strikeforce veteran Chad Griggs. Prado suffered an eyepoke early in the fight and it was waved off as a no-contest. Prado and Davis immediately rematched in Prado's native Brazil, resulting in a second round anaconda choke victory for Davis. Davis next signed to face former UFC light-heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin at the UFC's New Year's Eve event at the end of 2012. Unfortunately Griffin suffered a bad knee injury early in December 2012. Davis instead faced bitter rival Vinny Magalhaes defeating Magalhaes via a dominant unanimous decision. Davis next signed to fight former UFC light-heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida. He defeated Machida via a very controversial unanimous decision in Machida's homeland of Brazil. Davis was next rumored to fight former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi. Instead Davis was on the sidelines for pretty close to a year before signing in February 2014 to fight returning former UFC welterweight and WSOF veteran Anthony Johnson. Johnson dominated Davis en route to a unanimous decision. Third Title Run Afterwards Davis signed to fight contender Glover Teixeira. Davis defeated Teixeira via a very convincing and impressive but not exactly entertaining unanimous decision. He then fought fellow contender Ryan Bader in another unentertaining bout that resulted in a grueling split decision loss for Davis. Bellator As a free agent after the Bader loss Davis then signed with Bellator. In his Bellator debut, in a one-night light-heavyweight tournament, Davis defeated former champ Emanuel Newton via a first round kimura submission before then knocking out Francis Carmont in the first round. He next fought former Strikeforce champ Muhammed Lawal defeating Lawal via a grueling and close decision to earn a shot at undefeated Bellator champion Liam McGeary. Davis dominated McGeary completely en route to a unanimous decision victory to become the fifth Bellator light-heavyweight champion. Several months of inactivity later Davis was called out by newly signed UFC rival Ryan Bader for a title rematch at the biggest event to date in Bellator history, a June pay-per-view event in Madison Square Garden. Davis eagerly accepted. Bader defeated Davis via a tepid split decision victory. Fights *Phil Davis vs. Brian Stann - The fight was the UFC debut of undefeated Davis and the last fight as a light-heavyweight for Brian Stann. *Phil Davis vs. Alexander Gustaffson - Both fighters came into the fight undefeated and it was the first loss in the career of Alexander Gustaffson. *Phil Davis vs. Rodney Wallace - The undefeated prospect Davis came into the fight on short notice replacing an injured Stanislav Nedkov. Rodney Wallace was cut after the loss. *Phil Davis vs. Tim Boetsch - After the fight, Tim Boetsch moved down to middleweight. *Phil Davis vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira - Phil Davis was a replacement for an injured Tito Ortiz. *Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis - The winner of the fight would receive the next shot at the UFC light-heavyweight title. The fight was the first loss of Davis. *Phil Davis vs. Vinny Magalhaes *Phil Davis vs. Glover Teixeira *Phil Davis vs. Ryan Bader *Phil Davis vs. Emanuel Newton - The fight was in the semifinals of the Bellator Dynamite light-heavyweight tournament. The fight was Davis' Bellator debut. *Phil Davis vs. Francis Carmont - The fight was in the finals of the Bellator Dynamite light-heavyweight tournament. *Phil Davis vs. Liam McGeary - The fight was for the Bellator light-heavyweight championship, defended by undefeated champion Liam McGeary. It was McGeary's first loss. Category:Light-heavyweight fighters Category:Bellator fighters Category:Bellator champions